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nothing like mi cocina in dallas on a balmy friday night. highland park was chock full of awkward teenagers in their grown-up outfits, couples, girls night out groups. appreciate their bacon wrapped shrimp and ice cold margaritas.

of course we couldn’t go out before a heated happy hour of gin rummy. girls whipped the boys.

RECIPES

this recipe is designed for the person or couple who wants to cook but have a hard time deciding what to cook and frankly, how to cook. sometimes you just gotta say “cook it!” and dive right in. it is the perfect time of year for this recipe! this is a perfect recipe to do […]

nothing beats a juicy pot roast on the weekend. whether you’re one person or 10 – this is a winter necessity. so buy some meat today for the weekend and make your house smell fantastic! i received some requests for shirley’s pot roast recipe after my post last week, so here you go. these are […]

i don’t know too many people who have the meal thing all together. i always want to make time to do dinner right, but end up working all day and going out. i think there does come a time of diminishing returns for always going to restaurants to eat. it isn’t a treat anymore, not […]

this week i’m heading to beautiful new york state and i get the opportunity to pop in to spend some QT (quality time) with some of my very favorite people in the world. that would be the prendevilles! in honor of that, i’m going to repost susan’s awesome chicken recipe from last year. you […]

vacation here:

too busy having fun and learning to blog this week. 16 seminars and 4 keynote speakers down from the adtech conference in nyc this week – and all is firmly implanted in brain. great thing to realize? that we’re doing social media right. great to find that out at the worlds largest digital and social […]

i could be woody allen’s #1 fan. wait wait. i know what you’re thinking. and before you judge me and say “how could you, he is sic, he married his wife’s adopted daughter etc…” i understand. but hear my story first. long before all that drama… it was my senior year in college and i […]

paris paris paris

it took me more than 19 years to get to paris. the dream started here, if you remember. if you also remember, it was my goal to drop some poundage before i went. and that didn’t go quite as planned, but i’m not beating myself up. after all, i went to paris and nothing was […]

suddenly i’ve hit an age where i feel somewhat wise. not in a smart, know-it-all kind of way. it’s just a result of age. i feel wise because, for me, i’ve may have figured it out. priorities. you know when you are in your 20s and 30s (at least 4 me) i kind of – […]

we’re planning on going to paris in december. i’ve been wanting to go to paris for over 25 years. i just really wanted to go with someone i loved. like romantically (sorry mom.) so now, ROF is using his one week of vacation to take me there! december may seem like an odd time to […]

this has been a crazy week. glad to be unwinding with a little cab franc and this 60 degree weather in dallas. so this week was interesting in the way of travel and photos. kinda cool to get the photos i got messaged to me. oh, i love technology! i was in vegas for a […]

the best day and time of the week is 7am on saturday morning. now that i’m old, i am actually awake to hear the first bird churp the morning song. it means it’s time soon to stream – via apple tv – chicago’s 93xrt radio station and listen to saturday morning flashback (ROF is uncanningly […]

guest bloggers

breakfast for dinner – the ultimate comfort food by kathrine glass – friend of the appreciator and wanna-be mayor of her house! ever have one of those days when you want something for dinner that is really satisfying but not too high in calories; something quick and easy to make with an equally easy clean […]

when my awesome cousin, the appreciator, asked me for a recipe/drink post for her blog, i said “sure! sounds like fun.” It then took me about two seconds to realize there was one small problem – i don’t cook. i weighed my options: my “plan a” was to write about the one “recipe” i do […]

today’s guest recipe blogger is my mom. if you don’t know her already, you can read about her here. Or click the “wednesday story” to the right! i’m joan krause, mom of “the appreciator”. she invited me to supply a favorite recipe and story. my absolutely favorite thing to make and to eat is spaghetti. […]

here is my story- start here

this weekend holds two momentous occasions for me. saturday, is my one year anniversary to my wonderful husband ROF. i’m going to give that it’s own post. on the 25th it will be the anniversary of my dad’s death. it will be 6 years on sunday. it’s not sad, just i remember back to everything […]

here is my story. all of it.

welcome back wednesday story readers. if you’ve missed the past few weeks of the krause family drama, please click here to see past stories. i’ve decided that next week will be the end of my side of the story. as you read this, remember there are a lot of interesting viewpoints that would probably like […]

before i continue on our wednesday story, there is something i need to say. since this is my therapy a little bit and i’m bringing you along for the sorted ride (insert evil laugh) i need to share. there were so many people in our family’s lives who dropped off at this part. my parents […]

bawling like a baby at midway airport is where we left off last week. dad had just left mom for another woman after 34 years. if you’re new to the story, you’re going to want to get caught up here. do it quick…we’re moving on.

good day! if you’re joining in the “the story” for the first time today, then, please read part 1 and then part 2 and you’ll be all caught up and ready for part 3. which is right here. won’t take long. so where does this find you on this downright balmy wednesday morning …at the […]

last week, i started a weekly series in telling “the story”. You can find that story here if you missed it or feel so inclined to read it again. as a reminder, we spoke about my dad, our relationship and hopefully i gave you a pretty good idea of what he was like. now, the […]

all about rof

ROF was not happy about the idea of grilling pizza. we were doing our pre-dinner ritual of playing cards when he kept saying things like: “so i don’t get it. how does it work? i mean, do you roll the dough out?” trust me, love. look at all these recipe books that have done it […]

just in time for the weekend and back by popular demand… need a “go to” steak recipe? this is it. i call it the “girlfriend steak dinner” because it’s what ROF served his girlfriends if they made it to date #4. i know this because one saturday while we were visiting in his kitchen (let’s call […]

going to napa?

here it comes… my disection of our dream vacation and honeymoon to san fran and napa. we just got back yesterday! i’m gonna break it down in several different posts because, as you will surely see, our concentration was placed in two specific places: eating and drinking. (is there anything else?) ROF and i work […]

quote me on this

so this brief blog post is to say that i appreciate the fantastic guy who works in our building downstairs who holds the door kindly for all of us leaving the building around 6pm – 7pm. the door locks so he does this so we don’t have to fish for our keys. he’s an older, […]

ask my mom. ever since i was in high school, i felt the need to be surrounded by creativity. not mine, but others. there is something about having it all around me – where i can see the details from wherever i am in the room. what do i deem creative? where he’s a short […]

i’ve always loved new things and experiences. like the first day of school after goofing off all summer. new clothes and a new notebook with that first blank page just begging to be written on with your new pen from your new book bag (didn’t have backpacks back in my day.) lately, i’ve been experiencing […]

quest 4 recovery

i want to announce my friend kelly’s non-profit organization: Quest 4 Recovery. Quest 4 Recovery supports the recovery of children that have been kidnapped for exploitation purposes. i’m so impressed with this organization and mission, i can’t even tell you. wait, yes i can. before i jump into my interview with kelly and talk about their […]

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sometimes i’m overwhelmed by inspiration. ha. what a problem to have. i mean it. of course, i seek it out. my rss feed, podcasts, flipboard all stream inspiration constantly. i love it. even the music i listen to during the day is what i call “epic inspiring” – check it out here. helps keep me […]

one thing i’ve been blessed with is an absolutely fantastic career. one big part of this career over the past 24 years has been having meaningful conversations with clients, potential clients and other people i don’t know very well. i’m sure there are a lot of people who can say the same thing. i […]

ROF was not happy about the idea of grilling pizza. we were doing our pre-dinner ritual of playing cards when he kept saying things like: “so i don’t get it. how does it work? i mean, do you roll the dough out?” trust me, love. look at all these recipe books that have done it […]

you’re going to love this playlist, i promise. just start at the beginning and roll through it. i’ve searched and stolen and sung and smiled in the making of this. play it this weekend and add songs to it for me. i made it collaborative. happy friday to you!

RETRO POST! this was one of my first posts back in 2011. Oldie but a goodie… ************** so i can’t sleep or i guess i should say i woke up too early – like 4am too early. is this what happens when you get on the wrong side of 40? oh well, my mind is […]

lovely links

halloween is right around the corner. that used to be my favorite holiday. i loved getting dressed up and i especially remember the feeling when i was younger of pretending not to be afraid and then being really scared. i loved the whole pumpkin carving thing, the trick or treating in the cold michigan weather […]

you know what’s hard? it’s hard to write a blog called the appreciator (that is me) when i’m so darn tired, worn out and just pain, well…grumpy. it’s even harder admitting it to you. many of you are going through a much harder time than me. the appreciator can’t complain, can she? harumph. it’s interesting […]

so you thought i’d forgotten a post, huh? not me! tomorrow, my team and i are putting 35 bloggers in 35 chevy dealer diamond white chevy traverses’! and…at the texas state fair, no less. who knew this idea which was created around a table at a cafe by the galleria (the name which escapes me) […]

happy tuesday! another day, just aiming towards friday. i hope you’re doing well. today is tuesday, so you know what that means…i find links and you click on them. it’s really that simple. for some reason lately, i always have food on my mind. it’s just wrong. i think it could be stress. but that’s […]

i don’t know about you, but i love tuesday’s “5 lovely links” because it is fun finding them. yesterday was so stressful (it was a monday) and so i decided to give you 5 links to help relieve stress. tech note: oh yea, my mom wanted me to give a shout out to all of […]

i love this stuff

one thing i’ve been blessed with is an absolutely fantastic career. one big part of this career over the past 24 years has been having meaningful conversations with clients, potential clients and other people i don’t know very well. i’m sure there are a lot of people who can say the same thing. i […]

ROF was not happy about the idea of grilling pizza. we were doing our pre-dinner ritual of playing cards when he kept saying things like: “so i don’t get it. how does it work? i mean, do you roll the dough out?” trust me, love. look at all these recipe books that have done it […]

listening to harry janes & his orchestra – the “i’ve heard that song before” – takes me right back to age 22 when i first realized that woody allen’s movies were the slice of life movies i loved. especially this song in hannah & her sisters. i know. i know. lots of controversy on WA. i don’t […]

are you one of those color-shy folks that likes to stay neutral inside your house for fear of…. fear of… fear of WHAT? what exactly holds you back from showing a little leg inside your house with a pop of color? now more than ever, it’s easy to get away with it. why? because things […]

there’s something i want to remember every single morning. but i don’t. i wake up and go through my programmed routine and i forget. in the beginning i didn’t forget. and i made myself promise that i wouldn’t. i don’t want to forget to remember to live this day as if i had 4 months […]